Volunteer tutors help VIU students build confidence
After completing her diploma through VIU’s Adult Basic Education program this past spring, Kaylah Vassallo was looking to gain experience and get more involved before starting the Bachelor of Education program this fall.
She learned about VIU’s Volunteer Tutor program and decided it was a good way to help her achieve her own goals, while at the same time help other students work towards theirs. Kaylah tutors VIU students in pre-calculus and English.
“I wanted to gain experience teaching different types of learners while helping my peers build confidence in their own abilities,” she says.
For Dave Macmurchie, tutoring was a way to put his own education back to work. After studying biological chemistry in university, he became self-employed as a database developer.
Feeling like his formal education was going unused, he reached out to VIU (then Malaspina College) to see if there was a way to help. This led him to the Volunteer Tutor program in 2003.
Today, Dave tutors chemistry and math at VIU’s Cowichan campus.
“I really enjoy seeing people understand things that had at first seemed mysterious,” he says.
For both tutors, the biggest reward is seeing students gain confidence.
“Every student I’ve worked with has initially come to me with limited confidence in their own abilities, even though their true potential is often much greater than they realize,” Kaylah says.
Volunteer tutors have been active at VIU since the mid-1980s, providing one-on-one help, encouragement and support. The free service is open to all VIU students and available on all three campuses: Nanaimo, Cowichan and tiwšɛmawtxʷ.
Today, the program has 40 volunteer tutors, with an average of 225 students requesting tutoring each academic year, according to Liza Fuenning, Volunteer Tutor Program Assistant.
Students and tutors are matched according to the needs of students and the interests, experience and availability of tutors. The student is interviewed to determine needs and then a suitable tutor is given an overview of the situation. The tutor then contacts the student directly and sets up a time and place to meet.
All tutors complete a free training program before being matched with a learner. Training is usually offered twice a year, in September and January. Support is also available to tutors for support, consultation and resources.
“I would have loved to have this program available for me when I was a struggling student in university,” Liza says. “Barriers for students are even higher now: the cost of tuition, living costs and food insecurities – paying tutors is often out of reach.”
Volunteer tutors “instil confidence and knowledge in these students at no cost, with extra time as needed and they’re happy to do it,” she adds.
The impact can extend well beyond the course a student is struggling with. By sharing their time and knowledge, volunteer tutors help VIU students overcome challenges, build confidence and discover their potential.
“The most satisfying thing is the student’s success,” Dave says. “It may or may not be found in the topic you’re working on but if you can help them succeed in life, you’re winning.”
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer tutor is encouraged to connect with the program and help a student build confidence, overcome academic challenges and succeed in their studies.